Buffalo Bills News - December 8, 2016

What They Said: Buffalo Bills transcripts of Rex Ryan, Tyrod Taylor & five others Wednesday [1:53 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'We actually have some guys that quite honestly, I don’t know if we can bring him down. So but there’s other ways to combat that and we’ve got to go after the football. I think is one way and I remember I had a little nickel, weighed about 175 pounds, but he had two or three sacks against him. And he couldn’t tackle, but he kept knocking the ball out. And so if it’s that, or if it’s getting guys around him, and with these guys you’re so right that he’s hard to bring down. So we’ve got to keep our coverage, you’ve got to plaster in the back end. You know how good this guy is at extended plays and he’s been that way for years.'

Bills QB Tyrod Taylor says he's unaware of criticism [1:52 AM]Rochester D&C reports:
'If we’re going to take Taylor at his word and believe him when he says he hasn’t heard any of the grumbling that has taken place — especially in the days following his dreadful performance against the Raiders in a 38-24 loss that, regardless of what he says, has pretty much buried Buffalo’s playoff chances — then why was he so irritated by the line of questioning he faced after practice?'

Rex Ryan continues to defend Buffalo Bills QB Tyrod Taylor against critics [1:50 AM]Syracuse Post Standard reports:
'"I just think that if we're able to get ... there's no excuse or whatever," Ryan said. "Guys step in roles and things like that. But for instance, Robert Woods is limited today. I think that's a positive thing. It is going to be interesting to see how we perform if you have a healthy Robert Woods, a healthy Sammy Watkins, a healthy Goodwin to go along with McCoy, what he's able to do. I think it makes us really hard to defend.'

Tyrod Taylor named among most intriguing players down final stretch, says ESPN [1:48 AM]Syracuse Post Standard reports:
'As mentioned by Clayton, Taylor put together one of the best performances of his career on Monday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks. Since that loss, Taylor did enough to help the Bills get past the Bengals and Jaguars, but he struggled against the Raiders in Week 13 after playing well in the first quarter of the game.'

Le'Veon Bell and LeSean McCoy have mutual respect [1:43 AM]Beaver County Times reports:
'"Shady is one of my favorite runners in this league," Bell said. "Incredibly quick with the ball in his hands. ... I run like how he runs. Real quick, short lateral quickness. He doesn’t really use power much, but he depends on his quickness and lateral movement.'

LeSean McCoy talks Tyrod Taylor, Mike Vick, Pittsburgh & the Susquehanna River [1:42 AM]Harrisburg Patriot News reports:
'On Tyrod Taylor: "Yeah, he helped me out a lot also. The way that the line's blocking and the way Tyrod is playing. He can run, adds another dimension to the running game, so he reminds me a lot of Mike, playing with Mike Vick. I remember playing with him in Philly and we would start doing the option reads in the backfield, guys would be a little late to tackles because they had to make sure he wouldn't run and Tyrod's the same. Tyrod's the same. So you get that same feeling with Tyrod in the backfield, kind of like that old Mike Vick."'

Pittsburgh Steelers Opponent Profile: Desperate Bills Could Spell Trouble For Steelers [1:41 AM]KDKA-AM reports:
'After an impressive performance against the Giants, the Steelers have brought themselves back into the AFC playoff race and proved they are true contenders. They must keep winning and that starts with a victory over the Bills Sunday. The Steelers must prepare to face a desperate Bills team at their best in order to ensure a victory.'

Bills' loss is Steelers' gain [1:40 AM]Steelers.com reports:
'“We had a scrimmage and he got hurt,” Ryan remembered. “I think he might have played in one preseason game and I get the brilliant idea of, ‘Hey, maybe we should stash him on the practice squad.'

Bills QB Taylor shows frustration in face of criticisms [1:39 AM]AP reports:
'The outburst happened off camera and followed a 10-minute session with reporters during which the second-year starter faced several questions about criticism he received following a 38-24 loss to Oakland on Sunday. The Bills squandered a 15-point second-half lead and dropped to 6-6 in moving to the fringes of playoff contention.'

Bills are seeing the real McCoy in 2016 [1:38 AM]The Sports Xchange reports:
'"There's a lot of guys who poured it all out, but the type of day he had, he'd be the AFC player of the week, many things that go with it," coach Rex Ryan said.'

Steelers travel to Buffalo for rust-belt rivalry [1:37 AM]The Sports Xchange reports:
'Buffalo's passing offense ranks last in the NFL and the Bills are 14-12 with Taylor under center over the past two seasons. Taylor's shortcomings have raised questions about whether the Bills should opt out of the lucrative contract extension they gave Taylor prior to the season.'

Bills QB Tyrod Taylor puts frustration on display for media [1:36 AM]ESPN reports:
'"I've taken everything that y'all have stood up here and asked me, right in the chest," he said Wednesday. "It doesn't affect me emotionally or physically. I take that every week. Whoever y'all want to blame, I'll take that. Like I said, my job is to get the team into a position where we can win Sundays. Can I be better, yes? But it doesn't just take me; it's a collective effort out there on the field, each and every Sunday."'

Woods, Darby return to practice for Bills [1:34 AM]WGR-AM reports:
'Fellow wideout Sammy Watkins did not practice Wednesday, but Ryan said he “felt better physically” after Sunday’s game in Oakland than he did after the previous week’s contest against Jacksonville. The Jaguars game was the first action Watkins had seen after missing eight games recovering from a broken foot. Ryan indicated Watkins should be ready to play Sunday. '

Wood nominated for 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year award [1:33 AM]WGR-AM reports:
'Wood has done work with many programs including the Bills Play 60 program, Billieve/A Crucial Catch outreach, Salute to Service initiatives, and many more. Eric is also an ambassador for the Teammates for Kids Foundation, he has taken part in several Bills Make-A-Wish visits, makes impromptu stops at local hospitals and schools, and he regularly participates in Bills Community initiatives. Wood has been involved with visiting the Community Hospitality Tent at Training Camp, providing Thanksgiving Meals for families at the Food Bank of Western New York and handing out gifts at the Bills holiday party for children.'

5 takeaways from Bills HC Rex Ryan (12/7/16) [1:32 AM]WKBW-TV reports:
'Although the support is there, I still believe the Bills are trying to decide what to do with Tyrod Taylor at the end of the season — and the final four games, with Pittsburgh perhaps being the most important, are going to be vital to that.'

Top 7 storylines for Bills-Steelers this week [1:31 AM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'The Steelers have a bona fide “Big Three” on offense, maybe the biggest three in the league. Veteran QB Ben Roethlisberger is 3-0 against the Bills in his career. Roethlisberger has 25 touchdowns this season, and he’s three away from 300 career TD tosses, which would tie John Elway for the ninth-most in NFL history.'

Bills Today: Shaq Lawson to start Sunday [1:30 AM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'“He’s going to play a lot more. He’s going to be our starter this week and he’s earned it,” said Ryan on the Rex Ryan show this week. “He does a great job shedding blocks. This is what we knew about him. I think the time he missed with all of training camp set him back, but you’re starting to notice him more and more. This is what we really like about this young man. He plays extremely hard and he’s only going to get better.”'

Bills rank seventh in NFL in four-year spending average [1:57 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'From 2013-16, the Bills have spent $573,647,850 -- the seventh most in the NFL, according to information released Monday from the NFLPA. The teams ahead of them are: 1. Philadelphia ($614M), 2. Denver ($587M), 3. Seattle ($584M), 4. Green Bay ($583M) 5. Miami ($578M) and 6. Kansas City ($576M).'

Vic Carucci's Take Five: It will start up front with Bills' D vs. Steelers [1:56 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'Dareus and Williams, who weren't particularly effective in last Sunday's second-half defensive meltdown at Oakland, need to be able to win at least some of their battles against dominant Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey and right guard David DeCastro. Le'Veon Bell had a career-first third consecutive 100-yard rushing game in the Steelers' victory against the New York Giants last Sunday.'

Vic Carucci's Bills Wake-Up Call: Crisis alarms sound, but will anyone listen? [1:55 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'And losing it the way they did, by blowing a 15-point lead in the third quarter as they allowed the Raiders to score 29 unanswered points, makes it the sort of game that should have team owners Terry and Kim Pegula doing something other than saying, "Well, they did have Derek Carr and Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree ... and we did have some key injuries ... and it was a long trip to the West Coast ... and we were playing in the Black Hole, where the franchise had never won in 50 years."'

Bills loss to Raiders hit season-high rating [1:54 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'The Bills’ 38-24 loss to the Raiders had a 41.6 rating on WIVB-TV, the local CBS affiliate. That beat the previous season high of 41.3 for the Bills victory over the Los Angeles Rams in October.'